McCall prepping Molina for Arreola

By John Cannon
Photo: Rolando Salazar

Currently, Lyford native Eric Molina is training for the fight of his life as he will face Chris Arreola (34-2, 29 KOs), the number one ranked Heavyweight in the world in a 10-round title eliminator on February 18th as a part of the Paul Williams card on Showtime Championship Boxing in Corpus Christi. While many skeptics don’t think Molina (18-1, 14 KOs) stands a chance, there is one former Heavyweight champion who is doing everything possible to try and help the young Heavyweight pull off the upset. Oliver McCall (56-11, 37 KOs) came into town early this week and has been Molina’s primary sparring partner as well as assisting trainer James Gogue as a co-trainer.

McCall, who is no stranger to huge fights like this, said that he plans on helping Molina sharpen up some skills and have him ready to go on the 18th.

“The first thing we need to work on is refining Eric’s boxing skills,” said McCall. “There is no doubt Eric is a big puncher and has a lot of heart. But we need to refine him and modify certain techniques that will polish up those skills and help his in this fight.”

McCall went on and talked about some of the skills he and Molina’s camp will focus on that he needs to improve on.

“One of the most important things we are going to start with is his defensive skills, which seems to be his biggest weakness,” said McCall. “Also during the process of getting him ready for Arreola, we will scrap a lot of his old habits and teach him the good habits that will definitely make a huge difference.”

“Also, we want to focus on making adjustments and execution during the fight. If he listens to me during the instructions after each round and executes them, I feel he can win this fight.”

McCall feels that there is one area where Molina can dominate the fight if he uses it.

“Eric’s strength is his strength,” said McCall. “He has a very strong right hand and packs a strong punch. A lot of people underestimate his punching power and that’s the biggest offensive weapon we are going to work on.”

McCall said that he will have one last piece of advice to give Molina before he enters the squared circle.

“Be relaxed and confident in your abilities,” said McCall. “Don’t tense up, stay cool and give it your best effort out there. If he can do all of these things, he’s going to be alright.”

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February 8th, 2012

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